Talk to be about after birth pains!

[simplygreen]

Well mamas we are planning our 2nd HB, I do not remember bad after birth pains with my first but my MW said they could be severe for the first few days now that this is our second. She recommended ordering "afterease" Or contractease? Anyone have expereince with either of these? Do I really need them? Any other reccomendations? Thanks

[ashley_nicole]

YES! You need them! Actually, I just went with Motrin, and it worked great. But if you want to order one of those I'm sure they're good too. DH thought it was funny that I didnt need any drugs in labor but I needed them after! lol

[LianneM]

I agree, the afterpains are the absolute worst part of having kids. I really don't mean to scare you, but you'd think after laboring and pushing out a baby, it'd be nothing right? Wrong, at least for me. The 2nd one was much worse. I took ibuprofen after both of my births. I would have taken an epidural if it'd been offered definitely have something on hand!

[Nikki74]

Lol, my husband was also suprised that after pushing out a baby at the end of 15 hours of labour, I'd be complaining about afterpains and sore breasts from feeding. But man, those afterpains hurt! Anyway, it only lasted a couple of days, and only while bf'ing, and I guess at least I knew from that, that my uterus was doing the job it was supposed to be doing - I just took paracetamol for the pain.

[ABell]

you should invest in some arnica montana tablets 30c, I know Boiron is one brand that offers these. check out your local health food store. a bottle of 80 is like 6-8.00

[Kmama2]

Definately worse with your second.. I just took Motrin and used a heating pad and that helped alot. They were only super bad during nursing.. and just for 2-3 days. I would just make sure to have motrin on hand.

[xixstar]

well, for my second birth, I never got around to getting the afterease that was reccomended and didn't really have any trouble with after pains either. I did take tylenol for a day after the birth, but didn't feel that was after pain specific, more just pain in general. but there was 13 years between birth 1 and 2... so maybe I should be more prepared for this 3rd birth to have after pains.

[etsdtm99]

my 'after pains' were barely noticeable both times.. (kids 26 mo apart) .. i was taking motrin for several days after birth and i could tell my uterus contracted while nursing, but it didn't hurt... maybe it was the motrin?

[erin_brycesmom]

Afterpains with my second were really bad. I was scared of what they would be like after having my third. But my afterpains turned out to be very mild with #3. I was very consistent in taking alfalfa and drinking RRL tea with my third and wonder if one of those made the difference.

[violet]

Yes, be prepared. Nobody warned me before our second and I was tandem nursing our 2.5 yo when babe was born--so nursing the newborn plus nursing the full size/strength toddler!!! I really thought the afterpains were worse than the labor.

Along with suggestions above, I've heard that frequent urination, laying on your stomach for a bit, and staying in bed as much as possible can help. And sometimes the "uterine massage" is more painful than helpful... I rubbed my own belly for comfort but didn't let anybody squeeze me.

With our 3rd I did all the above and afterease and motrin and sailed through it.

[jenneology]

Another recommendation for Afterease, or for the main herb look for crampbark. Belly binding is also something you can do to help the uterus reduce to non-pregnant size. I really appreciated the counter-pressure that brought.

[Peace+Hope]

Originally Posted by jenneology

Another recommendation for Afterease, or for the main herb look for crampbark. Belly binding is also something you can do to help the uterus reduce to non-pregnant size. I really appreciated the counter-pressure that brought.

jenneology, any recommendations on this? i've seen the ones you can buy - they look quite uncomfortable, affairs of velcro and straps... wondering what you use.

[josie423]

I haven't used afterease, but plan on it this time around. Afterpains are not fun and are definitely worse with subsequent babies.

[quiverfull]

I'm on #5, and honestly, I've never had afterbirth pains that are any worse than menstral cramps. Annoying, yes, and I've always just used ibuprofen to help. The only point in labor I can equate them with is early labor, when you're more crampy than anything. :-)

Watch, now that I've said all this, I'll be dying after this LO appears. LOL

[momma_unlimited]

I've just had my 3rd and am having pretty bad ones- and not just while nursing. My midwife said motherwort- I'm wondering what are the differences between motherwort and crampbark, anyone know? Guess I will pop some arnica in the meantime.

[lindsayjean]

My 2nd birth after pains were way worse than my labor (although my labor was awesome and basically did not hurt at all... so I guess that isn't saying much). Maybe because I was prepared for the labor part, but not the insane afterpain part? I took arnica tabs and used arnica cream... but did end up taking some ibuprofen because it was SOOO BAD.

[camprunner]

Originally Posted by lindsayjean

My 2nd birth after pains were way worse than my labor (although my labor was awesome and basically did not hurt at all... so I guess that isn't saying much). Maybe because I was prepared for the labor part, but not the insane afterpain part? I took arnica tabs and used arnica cream... but did end up taking some ibuprofen because it was SOOO BAD.

but without the ibuprofen because I think my midwife said not to take anything. I can't be sure because I was out of it. We aren't even TTC yet and the pains were so bad this is what I'm going to focus on preventing for the next time. Due to stitches I wasn't allowed to take the warm bath that I felt I needed. I'm definately going to follow this thread and make a list.

[JorgieGirl]

Can someone tell me what makes this afterease reduce the pain? I can't take ibuprofen or any kind of blood thinner, so motrin is not an option for me. I do plan on keeping arnica around (always do) but am concerned it wont be enough.

[Veritaserum]

They don't always get worse. My last two babies (4 and 5) were my easiest recoveries. I had mild cramping and minimal bleeding with both. Iron and Calcium during my last trimester helped a ton. I also think Hypnobabies had something to do with it.

[wbg]

They are definitely there and can be tough. I have had a managed 3rd stage where I got a shot to tighten the uterus, twice which by the way, was out of my own ignorance. Those after pains were way way worse than the ones where I had zero interventions in any parts of my labour.

I think good iron and calcium supps through pregnancy can also help.

With my last i did not have to take anything for the after pains which was cool. But it is always good to be prepared.